Known Geologic Events at Mount Rainier
The purpose of this page is to list all known, dated gelogic events at Mount Rainier, including lahars, debris flows, large rockfalls, large avalanches, rockfalls, and other events. This list is currently being compiled, so if you find errors or a missing event, please
let Scott know.
Database ID#: 33
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2012
Location: Nisqually Glacier
Glacier Name: Nisqually Glacier
Drainage Basin: Nisqually River
Event Type: Outburst Flood
Weather:
Wet/Rainy... Precip Records, 2017-10-27:
12:00: 0.20 in
13:00: 0.21 in
14:00: 0.15 in
15:00: 0.19 in
16:00: 0.29 in
17:00: 0.24 in
18:00: 0.39 in
19:00: 0.40 in
20:00: 0.15 in
21:00: 0.17 in
22:00: 0.15 in
23:00: 0.09 in
00:00: 0.01 in
0.00 after that
Season: Wet
Notes:
A small glacial outburst flood occurred at Mount Rainier National Park on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at approximately 9:00 PM. This event, while significant, was localized in scale, caused no damage to park facilities, and was not volcanic in origin. It likely originated from the Nisqually Glacier as result of moderate to intense rainfall. A stream gage located at Longmire registered a 2.8 foot (0.85 meter) rise in river water level between 8:30 and 9:45 pm and the spike was seen on other gages downstream of the park. Field data concurs with the stream gage and shows evidence of a several-foot surge of water in the Nisqually River.
*** 2018-08-10 UPDATE ***
So this is interesting... There's a clear seismic signal that shows up park-wide at approx 2012-10-27 03:07:00 UTC ish...
Longmire:
http://service.iris.edu/irisws/timeseriesplot/1/query?net=UW&sta=LO2&loc=--&cha=EHZ&starttime=2012-10-28T00:00:00&endtime=2012-10-28T23:59:59&helicordermode=true&format=png
Camp Muir:
http://service.iris.edu/irisws/timeseriesplot/1/query?net=UW&sta=RCM&loc=--&cha=EHZ&starttime=2012-10-28T00:00:00&endtime=2012-10-28T23:59:59&helicordermode=true&format=png
Emerald Ridge:
http://service.iris.edu/irisws/timeseriesplot/1/query?net=UW&sta=RER&loc=--&cha=EHZ&starttime=2012-10-28T00:00:00&endtime=2012-10-28T23:59:59&helicordermode=true&format=png
I have an email out to Steve and Seth to figure out what this is.
Estimated Velocity:
Estimated Peak Flow:
Estimated Volume:
References:
Beason (2012) (Unpublished brief)
Data references:
Beason, S.R., 2012, Small glacial outburst flood occurs on Mount Rainier - October 27, 2012: Unpublished National Park Service Science Brief, 3 p.
Beason, S.R., et al., in prep, Glacial outburst floods and debris flows from the South Tahoma Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington: August and September, 2015: National Park Service Natural Resource Report NPS/MORA/NRR-2015/XXX.
Copeland, E.A., 2010, Recent periglacial debris flows from Mount Rainier, Washington: M.S. Thesis, Oregon State University, 125 p.
Copeland, E.A., P.M. Kennard, A.W. Nolin, S.T. Lanscaster and G.E. Grant, 2008, Initiation of recent debris flows on Mount Rainier, Washington: A climate warming signal? American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Crandell, D.R., 1971, Postglacial lahars from Mt. Rainier volcano, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 677, 75 p.
Donovan, K.H.M, 2005, An investigation into the 2003 Van Trump Creek debris flow, Mt. Rainier, Washington, United States of America: BSc Geological Hazards Thesis, University of Portsmouth (UK), 58 p.
Driedger, C.L. and A.G. Fountain, 1989, Glacier outburst floods at Mout Rainier, Washington State, USA: Anals of Glaciology, Vol. 13, 5 p.
Hodge, S., 1972, The movement and basal conditions of the Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier: Ph.D Thesis, Univeristy of Washington, xxx p.
Legg, N.T., 2013, Debris flows in glaciated catchments: A case study on Mount Rainier, Washington: M.S. Thesis, Oregon State University, 162 p.
Legg, N.T., A.J. Meigs, G.E. Grant and P.M. Kennard, 2014, Debris flow initiation in proglacial gullies on Mount Rainier, Washington: Geomorphology, Vol. 226, p. 249-260.
Richardson D., 1968, Glacier outburst floods in the Pacific Northwest: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 600-D, D79-D86.
Samora, B., 1991, Chronology of flood events as noted in the superintendent's annual reports 1940-1991, Unpublished Internal Document, Mount Rainier National Park, WA, 13 p.
Scott, K.M., J.W. Vallance, and P.T. Pringle, 1995, Sedimentology, behavior, and hazards of debris flows at Mount Rainier, Washington: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1547, 56 p.
Vallance, J.W., C.L. Driedger and W.E. Scott, 2002, Diversion of meltwater from Kautz Glacier initiates small debris flows near Van Trump Park, Mount Rainier, Washington: Washington Geology, Vol. 30, No. 1/2, p. 17-19.
Vallance, J.W., M.L. Cunico and S.P. Schilling, 2003, Debris-flow hazards caused by hydrologic events at Mount Rainier, Washington: United States Geological Survey Open-File Report 2003-368, 4 p.
Walder, J.S. and C.L. Driedger, 1994, Geomorphic changed caused by outburst floods and debris flows at Mount Rainier, Washington, with emphasis on Tahoma Creek valley: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4093, 100 p.
Walder, J.S. and C.L. Driedger, 1994, Rapid geomorphic change caused by glacial outburst floods and debris flows along Tahoma Creek, Mount Rainier, Washington, USA: Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 26, No. 4, p. 319-327.
Walder, J.S. and C.L. Driedger, 1995, Frequent outburst floods from South Tahoma Glacier, Mount Rainier, USA: relation to debris flows, meterological origin and implications for subglacial hydrology: Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 41, No. 137, 11 p.